In this conversation, acclaimed bassist Mike Valerio discusses his unique career path, which spans orchestral performance, studio recordings, and beyond. From his early musical influences to his current work in Los Angeles, Mike shares insights about versatility, preparation, and finding balance in a multifaceted musical career.
This conversation has been formatted and edited for clarity.
The Challenge of John Adams Oratorio for the bassist
Mike Valerio is in town to perform John Adams’ “The Gospel According to the Other Mary” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This demanding oratorio, which premiered in 2012 under Gustavo Dudamel, presents unique challenges for bassists.
“It’s a very cool piece that runs about two hours and 45 minutes with an intermission,” Valerio explains. “John Adams added two instruments to his orchestra – a cimbalom, which is like a Hungarian hammer dulcimer, and electric bass.”
Valerio performs the electric bass part, which he describes as “one of the hardest electric bass parts I’ve ever come in contact with.” One section in particular stands out – the opening of the second act where “all hell breaks loose” with the choir belting out and “crazy stuff happening in the orchestration.”
“It’s quarter note equals 176, with running eighth notes that go for about three pages. They’re all over the ax, and because of the range involved and the jumps involved, I play it on a six-string bass,” Valerio says.
After performing it the first time on a borrowed instrument, Valerio had Fodera make him a custom six-string bass specifically for this piece – a neck-through-body construction with a flamed Koa top that “looks like it belongs in the orchestra.”
Photo: Joanne Pearce
Finding Focus and Performance Mindset
Preparing for such demanding performances requires more than just technical practice. Valerio explains his approach to mental preparation:
“A lot of preparation time goes without saying on a piece like this. I really had to figure out what to leave out and make sure all the notes were what John Adams intended. There was a lot of slow practice, a lot of right-hand coordination stuff.”
For the performance itself, Valerio applies techniques learned from Dr. Don Green, focusing on regulating attention rather than trying to maintain peak focus throughout the lengthy performance.
“You can’t stay at optimum attention span focus all the time. You have to know how to regulate that, shifting in and out of focus – relaxing a little bit for a time and then going back into focus mode. I use his techniques throughout this piece, allowing myself to relax because I have to make it through such a long blow.”
Mike’s Musical Journey
Born into a musical family (his mother a cellist, his father a jazz pianist and choir conductor), Valerio was immersed in music from the beginning.
“They had me singing pitch patterns before I could talk. I started on piano and sang on children’s records. My first sessions were when I was about 10 years old, singing on children’s educational records until my voice changed.”
Around age 12 or 13, his parents steered him toward the bass. “They knew I was a lazy kid but had great ears. They didn’t know many bass players that played in tune, so they said, ‘Let’s give him a bass and see what happens.'”
The original incentive was simple: “If you study the upright, we’ll buy you an electric.” That was all Valerio needed to hear. He received his first electric bass for his 14th birthday and spent most of his time practicing electric bass rather than upright until college.
Education and Influential Teachers
Valerio’s educational path took him from Eastman School of Music to private studies with renowned teacher Homer Mensch, and ultimately to Indiana University to study with Stuart Sankey.
Speaking of Mensch, Valerio recalls, “Homer had so much rich history in his playing career as a studio musician as well as an orchestral musician. He could say, ‘I prefer the Bernstein bowing on this’ because he played it under Bernstein. I asked him once who his favorite conductor was. He said, ‘Oh, Toscanini,’ because he played under Toscanini with the NBC Orchestra.”
At Indiana University, Valerio studied with Stuart Sankey alongside a “great crew” of fellow bassists including Charlie Duramis, John Grillo, and Dan Krekler. Of Sankey, Valerio remembers memorable quotes like “Intonation is a state of mind” and “You don’t see the squirrels running around worrying about intonation.”
Finding His Path at New World Symphony
After completing his studies, Valerio spent three years at the New World Symphony, which he describes as “probably the most important three years of my life.”
While at New World, Valerio balanced his orchestral work with touring as an electric bassist with pianist Roger Williams. This split focus created challenges: “I’m leaving New World for a week to go play electric bass somewhere else, come back for a week, play catch up on the upright bass trying to get back to where I was when I left, and then I’m gone again for another week.”
This experience helped him realize he didn’t want to be in an orchestra full-time – a revelation that would shape his future career decisions.
“It became very obvious early on that I couldn’t be fulfilled exclusively as an orchestral musician. I needed to find a place where I could do a little bit of everything, but at a high level.”
Making the Move to Los Angeles
Encouraged by both conductor Michael Tilson Thomas (who introduced Michael to the contractor David Lowe) and studio bassist Chuck Berghofer (known for iconic bass lines including the “Barney Miller” theme), Valerio decided Los Angeles would be the right fit for his diverse musical interests.
“I think if I had moved back to New York, I would’ve been pigeonholed as the legit guy or the jazz guy or the electric guy. There wouldn’t have been enough room to mix things up and play in a variety of contexts.”
The layout and space of LA provided room to create his own niche. Following his move in 1999, Valerio made connections that would help establish his career, including placing as a finalist in the LA Philharmonic audition, which led to opportunities to substitute with the orchestra.
Establishing Work in Los Angeles
Mike: Well, it didn’t happen overnight, but it is also a time that I remember very fondly. You know, I was in a position where I’d get called as a fill-in guy for a gig here or there. Film scoring wise, I’d get a single session for John Williams. David Lowe had numerous jingle dates and TV film dates at that time. So, every week, I’d have something from him, and I’m really grateful to him and for that opportunity, because it put something on the calendar.
I took an audition and won a position in the Santa Barbara Symphony, which also helped just put something on the calendar so I wasn’t freaking out looking at a blank page.
The three heavy guys at that point in time were Nico Abondolo, who was like the up-and-coming principal that had just replaced Arnie Gelson as principal for John Williams, and then Chuck De Monaco and Arnie. Chuck and Arnie were very, you know, sort of paternal figures in my life. Chuck was like a second father to me. And Arnie and I also became very close, and the two of those guys both took me under their wing, both taught me a lot about, by example, about how to be, and what to do and what not to do. Nico was also very kind to me, you know, coming up.
Two significant career boosts came when established players championed him: “Arnie retired and when he retired, he sort of bequeathed his gigs to me. He let the composers that he sits first for know that ‘I would like Mike Valerio to be my successor.’ And Chuck [Berghofer] also did the same thing when he found out that he was terminally ill with cancer.”
Sight Reading on Double Bass and Electric Bass
Jason: When you’re walking into most of those sessions, you don’t know what’s gonna be on the stand?
Mike: Yep.
Jason: That’s a special skill, being able to read down what’s on the page. Did you always have that skill? Did you develop it? If so, how?
Mike: I think for me, I’ve thought about this—I’ve always been a better reader on upright than I’ve been on electric. Which seems counterintuitive. And until I started working on my reading on electric, I realized that the electric bass doesn’t have as many of those guideposts.
You know, like hitting the back of the saddle or hitting the nut to know where you are on the instrument. On the upright, where your arm hits the shoulder when you’re going into thumb position, it means that you’re gonna hit a certain note. So you’ve got all these guideposts to tell you where you are.
On the electric, it’s just kind of your free-balling it. You know, so when I took an interest in really learning the fingerboard on the electric bass and learning where I was at any time and playing more positionally, kind of just filling in some of the holes in my upbringing on that instrument, my reading got better. Just because there was context there under the fingers, and then I can read this.
Jason: Yeah, that guidepost thing, that’s something I think about a lot. I don’t play a lot of electric gigs, but I struggle with that in electric with reading too, just because I have to use my eyes so much more.
Mike: The X factor.
Jason: Yeah, exactly.
Mike: I started practicing in the dark, which has come in handy on this John Adams piece actually.
Jason: Is it on a black stage?
Mike: Yeah. A lot of the times I cannot see where I am on the fingerboard, even if I do look down, and it can be quite disconcerting.
Jason: Especially with a part like that.
Mike: Yeah. The other thing is that I thought I was gonna be all slick when I had that bass made, and I said, “Don’t put any fret markers on the face of it.” Not realizing that I was gonna be performing the piece in the dark.
So then it’s like, you spend thousands of dollars on a bass, and you go out and get these little shiny stickers from the 99 cents store to stick on your thousands of dollars bass so that you can see where the hell you are. Ironic, yet a true story.
I wish I had some of those stickers for tonight’s gig actually. They’d come in handy!
Studio Work vs. Live Performance
Jason: We were talking about the experience of actually preparing something like this John Adams piece, or going and playing a symphony or whatever it might be, versus that studio work and the different similarities and differences. Maybe just talk about why you find it stimulating or satisfying to actually prepare a piece like this John Adams.
Mike: Up to this point, that’s what we’ve been doing all our lives. We’ve been preparing for whatever the next gig that comes up. You get music in advance. You think, “Oh, it’s this piece, oh, it’s this set of pieces. Oh, it’s this piece that I’ve worked on.” Or preparing for auditions. There’s a sense of cause and effect, a sense of tasks at hand, problem solving, and using those gears of your brain to move yourself forward. Whether that feels incremental or whether it happens quickly, it’s how we grow.
So you get into studio stuff, and so much of the time, with some exceptions where we are able to get the music in advance, you’re seeing the music for the first time on the stand. And you have to make sense of what it is musically, and you have to come to a very quick peace with it, whatever the music is, but you don’t have that sense of working it out. And the sense of accomplishment that comes with that as well.
It can really mess you up over time not to have a routine of working on something in your playing on your instrument, repertoire, or preparing for a gig. It’s an important part of what we do as musicians. And as bass players with such a physical instrument, there’s gotta be a sense of working in touch with the axe on a daily basis or weekly basis, and you lose that.
I don’t know a good way to describe the phenomenon, but it’s like you really lose your gravity to a certain degree. You’re just kind of floating, and you get used to that after a while, but your muscles atrophy. In a sense, it’s like being in outer space.
Jason: But you’re right. It’s the thing we spent our whole life doing. And working towards something. Working towards an event and then applause. Event done, move on to the next event.
Exactly. Yeah, it’s not a good feeling. And that’s why, like I spoke to you before, a lot of the more successful studio musicians always hold onto their live gigs. At first I thought it was just in case things dry up, and of course, there’s a certain part of that. But I think more importantly, just a sense of connection and a sense of working on things. Honing the craft and having those things to work on as part of your schedule, your weekly schedule is really good for your head. And really important.
I wish I had more of that in my schedule right now. I mean, there are things that come up. There are gigs that I have to prepare for. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve gotten to sit with the LA Chamber Orchestra a few times this year because they don’t have a full-time bass section right now. And working toward those concerts was really beneficial, really enjoyable. And the concerts were great.
Jason: As that fresh element to the schedule. That live element.
Mike: Yeah, exactly. Especially when you’re away from it for a while. It’s just nice to get back in touch with that. It’s like, “Oh yeah, that’s right.” And it becomes refreshed.
Advice for Young Musicians
Jason: So you’ve been doing this a while—you’re coming up on 20 years now.
Mike: Yeah.
Jason: 1999 to 2017, right?
Mike: Yep.
Jason: In that time—just shy of two decades—how has the scene changed in terms of the amount and type of work? What’s different?
Mike: Well, it’s gotten smaller.
Jason: Yeah?
Mike: The scene has definitely shrunk. It went from a freelance market that could support four or five orchestras’ worth of players to maybe one and a half. That’s what the current scene can sustain in terms of full-time employment. There’s still good work out there, but it’s for fewer people.
And I don’t want to be discouraging and say there are no gigs—which is what the old-timers always say: “Don’t move here, there are no gigs.” But there’s always room for good players. Always. That just means someone gets moved down the pecking order to make room for new talent, which is what happens every time someone moves to L.A., or into any scene, really. But again—there’s always room for good players.
Jason: Outside of talent—let’s assume someone is talented, and there are a lot of specific talents needed for what you do—what other qualities make people want to hire someone again?
Mike: You’ve got to be able to get along with people. It helps to have a sense of humor. Especially in studio work, so much of it is about staying out of the way—having your antennae up so you know what to do or not do without being told.
I don’t know if that’s a skill or just a trait—maybe even genetic. Some people just have it, some don’t. We all know good players who don’t have the radar for when to hold back, what not to say, or how not to play. And those people usually weed themselves out of the scene without anyone having to say a word.
If you have that kind of radar, and you keep those instincts sharp, it really makes a difference. Playing in a section, especially in studio recording, is about blending—playing for the microphone, not the back of a concert hall. Everything is under a microscope.
Jason: Right—more intimate.
Mike: Exactly. You need a smoother sound—less of the harsh artifacts that come with playing loudly. Of course, there’s a time and place for different sounds, but in general, the tone needs to be refined. A lot of open strings, knowing how to get a good sound on a note like open G, or something notoriously tricky like a low A-flat.
Jason: That’s often a rough note on many basses.
Mike: Exactly. But if that’s what you have to play that day, you can’t just say, “Oh, that’s the bad note on my bass.” Every bass has one. You’ve got to figure out how to work around it—whether that’s bow speed, pressure, or in my case, I’ll sometimes finger an octave above to reinforce the sound.
On Chuck’s basses, that A-flat is especially bad. My colleagues love to remind me of it. So I’ll double-stop and play the upper A-flat on the D string with it—smooths it out and solidifies the tone. I’ll do that even in fast passages, or definitely if I have to hold the note for a while.
So yeah, beyond playing, it’s the same professional standards: show up early, bring the right gear, and make the right sounds.
Jason: Sounds simple, but…
Mike: Sounds like it should go without saying, but sometimes it needs to be said.
Jason: I loved your description of playing for the mic—it’s almost like the difference between stage acting and film acting. One raised eyebrow on camera can say a lot, whereas on stage, it would barely register.
Mike: Totally. You can get away with a lot more in live performance than in the studio. I’ve played in bass sections that, in the moment, sounded pretty rough. But when you step back 10, 20, 30 feet, it actually sounds quite good. That’s always surprising. All that stage noise doesn’t necessarily carry.
Jason: Right. Very different approach from playing for the mic.
Mike: Absolutely.
Mike’s Advice to His Younger Self
Jason: I’ve got one more for you. This is my only general question: If you could go back and give advice to a younger version of yourself—maybe in your 20s—what would you say?
Mike: Oof, that’s tough. It kind of reminds me of that idea that if everyone threw their problems into a pile, they’d all take their own problems back. Everyone thinks they want someone else’s life—until they see what it really is.
That said, I think the main piece of advice would be: Choose music first, and the money will follow. If I can keep remembering that, it keeps me grounded. For example, I’m here in San Francisco playing this piece—they’re paying me, sure, but it’s not like film work with residuals. It’s not a huge payday. Still, I chose music first.
Another thing people told me all along was, “You have to choose—classical or jazz, upright or electric.” If I had listened to that, I wouldn’t have the career I have today. It wasn’t until I worked with Don Greene that I realized I didn’t have to choose. He said, “Why can’t you just choose to do all of it?”
That was a huge shift in mindset. I needed to make that a conscious, intentional choice. Be as specific as possible about what you want to do. If I’d embraced that earlier, I might’ve avoided some unnecessary struggle. I might have even gotten where I am a little sooner.
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This conversation was originally published on March 30, 2017 on our podcast Contrabass Conversations.
